Minimalism: Mental Clutter

I’ve mentioned before how I would get seriously stressed out at clutter. My college roommate and I got in many petty fights about dishes in the sink. I move Colton’s shoes into the closet almost daily. If there are too many pieces of mail stacking up, I freak out and want to handle everything right that second. Eliminating the physical clutter has helped with that tremendously and takes that one stress away. But perhaps more importantly, in dealing with physical clutter, I am learning to handle mental clutter as well.

I am more aware of the music, shows, and movies I’m putting into my head and the thoughts I am letting occupy space. A lot of minimalists meditate to clear their minds, but I just pray. And I set my focuses on my values so I know what’s important and don’t waste my mindspace with negativity, comparison, or unnecessary things.

Something I’m learning to do more and more now is to allow myself to be bored. Allow myself to have absolutely nothing poured into my head. It seems as if I always have a show on in the background or a podcast or music in my headphones. My entire commute is accompanied by an audiobook (back when I had a commute). I’m either working or reading or writing or accomplishing something, and sometimes even multi-tasking so I can do things simultaneously. In doing this, I inevitably clog my brain with thoughts upon thoughts upon thoughts. I have to check the recipe 5 times after throwing the packet away because I’m also trying to pay attention to my podcast. I have to remember if I already shampooed my hair or not because I was jamming out to music. Minimalists argue that multi-tasking isn’t great because you aren’t giving your full attention to either thing.

But even more so than that, what about not tasking at all? What about just taking a moment to do nothing? To meditate, pray, or simply sit out on the back porch and enjoy the day? It’s moments like these when big ideas and revelations come, when you fully understand yourself, when you are silent to hear what God might be trying to say to you. I remember having these unbearable moments of being bored as a child (ya know, before technology took over and I always had something on in the background), but it is thanks to those moments of boredom that my creativity shined. I would draw out city plans in chalk on the driveway and ride my scooter through the town. I would spend hours making pictures on our Lite-Brite. It was in these moments that I picked up a pen and wrote my first creative stories. Maybe the reason I feel so mentally clogged and experience writer’s block is because I’m not giving my brain a rest. I’m not eliminating the extra clutter that doesn’t “spark joy” or “add value” to my life. 

So I’m going to try to allow myself some quiet time throughout the day, to really hone in on my intentions, to realign with my values, and to allow myself to be bored. This will cause me to be silent enough to hear God’s voice and/or my own creative juices start to flow again. I encourage you to do the same!